"If anything is certain,
it is that I myself am not a Marxist."
—Karl Marx (German
1818-1883)
Word for the day
Cupidity (n)
Eager or excessive desire,
especially to possess something; greed; avarice.
(Source: Dictionary.com)
Malice towards none
I support Maneka Gandhi's suggestion
of a compulsory sex determination test on all fetus!
This should be followed up
by appropriate counseling of would be parents and safety precautions for female
fetus.
First random thought this morning
Jumping traffic signal is not just a minor legal offence. It is a
manifestation of the total disregard for the right to a peaceful and safe
existence.
It is no different from selling adulterated food and fake
medicine; using infected devices in a hospital; leaving potholes and uneven
road behind after digging the road for utility repairs; allowing people to
travel on the roof of a train or bus; or simply killing someone in a fit of
anger or over joy.
Disregard for others' right to safe and peaceful existence should
carry strictest possible punishment and this law should be enforced earnestly.
Rajan puts the ball in Jaitely's court
With a strong backhand smash, Governor Rajan has put the ball
forcefully in the government's court.
Like a good teacher, Governor Rajan gently patted on the back of
the government and threw in couple of advices embalmed with a good deal of
caution.
While appreciating the current momentum of growth as
"reasonable", the governor highlighted that it is certainly below the
potential and also below the medium term expectations.
Expressing concern over cooling growth drivers, he advised the
government to "rekindle the growth drivers" to achieve a
"durably higher growth trajectory".
Highlighting the challenges for the finance minister, the governor
sought continuous improvement in the business environment to revive the private
investments while continuing the fiscal consolidation efforts. The advise
embalmed with caution went like this "Underlying growth drivers need to be
rekindled to place the economy durably on a higher growth trajectory. The
revival of private investment, in particular, has a crucial role, especially as
the climate for business improves and fiscal policy continues to
consolidate".
To rub off some Davos effect, the Governor did not forget to
highlight the responsibility India bears to the global economy. Being one of
few islands of stability in otherwise challenged world, India cannot compromise
on its commitment to financial stability, fiscal discipline and sustainably
faster growth.
Reiterating his commitment to objectivity and transparency in
decision making, the governor made it clear that his monetary policy action
would be guided by the path of inflation and structural reform measure in the
forthcoming Union Budget that would boost growth while maintaining the fiscal
discipline. The operative words of the policy statement, in my view, are the
following:
"The Reserve Bank continues to be accommodative even as it
leaves the policy rate unchanged in this review, while awaiting further data on
the development of inflation. Structural reforms in the forthcoming Union
Budget that boost growth while controlling spending will create more space for
monetary policy to support growth, while also ensuring that inflation remains
on the projected path of 5 per cent by the end of 2016-17."
The following cautionary statement notwithstanding:
"For 2016-17, growth is expected to strengthen gradually,
notwithstanding significant headwinds. Expectations of a normal monsoon after
two consecutive years of rainfall deficiency, the large positive terms of trade
gain, improving real incomes of households and lower input costs of firms should
contribute to strengthening the growth momentum. Yet, still weak domestic
private investment demand in a phase of balance sheet adjustments, re-emergence
of concerns relating to stalled projects, excess capacity in industry, sluggish
external demand conditions dampening export growth could act as
headwinds."
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